Friendsgiving

It's that wonderful time of the year when family and friends gather together and share one of the best meals!  It's been a very long time since I've been "home" for Thanksgiving.  Over the past 10-12 years I have spent Thanksgiving Day with a different group of friends each year.  This type of gathering has come to be known as Friendsgiving.  It's always a bit of a question as to where I will end up eating dinner, but I haven't been stuck at home by myself yet (a few years that was a real possibility).  Ahh...the life of a single girl living far from family!

This year I was invited to my first official "Friendsgiving" (the invite actually said "Friendsgiving," thus making it official).  It was hosted on a Sunday afternoon at a church friend's house southwest of the city.  By the time I RSVPed most of the dinner food was vouched for and so I was asked to bring dessert.  I didn't mind this at all, since sweet treats are my favorite!  I love to bake and so, I searched around for a tasty recipe.

I'm a bit of a hoarder when it comes to cake mixes.  Whenever I see them on sale, I buy at least 1, maybe 2.  You never know when you might need cupcakes or a cake to celebrate an occasion!  So, I'll admit it and you can judge me, but I rarely make a cake from scratch.  Why do something the hard way, when an easy short-cut is provided?

Cranberries are an excellent
flavor for the season.

In addition to making great, hard-to-screw-up cakes, cake mixes can be made into a variety of desserts, thus the popular line of cookbooks by Anne Byrn.  I have the first book and have only made a few things from it, but one of my favorite treats are these Cranberry Oat Crumble Bars.  I just happened to have a bag of fresh cranberries in the freezer that I've been meaning to use for almost a year!

So, the night before the gathering, I baked these bars and my whole apartment smelled like cake!  Everyone enjoyed them at the gathering and I hope that you do to.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cranberry Oat Crumble Bars

1 package (12 oz; 3 cups) whole cranberries (I used a bag of fresh cranberries that I had frozen)

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup water (you can use orange juice)

1 package (18.25 oz) plain yellow cake mix

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

1 cup old-fashioned oatmeal

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1. Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.  Set aside an ungreased 13 x 9 inch baking pan.

2. Pick over the cranberries, and discard any that are shriveled or discolored.  Place the remaining cranberries, granulated sugar and water in a medium-size heavy saucepan over medium heat.  Cook, stirring, until the mixture is thickened and all the cranberries pop, 10- 15 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat, pour the cranberry filling into a shallow freezer-proof glass dish, and place it in the freezer to cool.

3. Place the cake mix, melted butter, oatmeal, brown sugar, eggs, and ginger in a large mixing bowl.  Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.  Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  The mixture will be thick.  Reserve 1 1/2 cups for topping.  Transfer the remaining crust mixture to the pan.  Using your fingertips, press the mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan so that it reaches all sides.

4. Remove the chilled cranberry filling from the freezer and pour it over the crust, spreading it out with the rubber spatula.  Pinch off pieces of the reserved crust mixture and scatter them over the filling.  Place the pan in the oven.

5. Bake the cake until it is light brown and bubbling, 35 – 40 mins. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool.

6. Cut the cake into 24 bars.  Serve.

Peach Cobbler Muffins with Oat Streusel Topping

One of my favorite fruits of the summer are peaches.  I don't know, maybe it's my Georgia roots, but there's just something about biting into a ripe, juicy peach that does my heart good. I love the sweet smell and even the fuzzy feel of the peel.  

Earlier this year I had some peaches that I knew would be too ripe to eat if I let them sit much longer, and I didn't have enough time to eat them all.  My default would have been to make a peach cobbler, but that's not the easiest thing to share with neighbors, so I searched around and found a nice recipe for an alternative.  I changed the topping from a regular streusel to an oat streusel and love what these turned out to be.

Peach Cobbler Muffins with Oat Streusel

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour 
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk
2 cups fresh peaches, diced (about 2 large peaches)


Oat Streusel Topping

1 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
1 tablespoon flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into chunks

Directions

Streusel Topping

In a small bowl, whisk together oats, flour, sugar and cinnamon.  Add in butter and mix together until full incorporated and you have a sandy texture.

Muffins

Preheat oven to 350º. Lightly grease a muffin tin with cooking spray or vegetable oil, or line with paper muffin liners.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla and milk. Add flour mixture and stir until just combined. Gently stir in peaches.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with muffin batter. (Don't over fill.) Sprinkle muffins with topping.

Bake at 350º for 20 to 25 min, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

When muffins are done, cool for a few minutes in the muffin pan before removing to cool on a wire rack.  Enjoy!

What's in the Name?

It took some time thinking up a name for this blog.  I finally chose something that I feel is rather appropriate - both the title of the blog and the web address have great meaning.

Saranac Lake, NY

First off, my name is Sarah.  Hi, how are you doing?  Nice to meet you.  Second, I like the word serendipity.  I like it's meaning.  I don't believe too much in random circumstances, however, I do enjoy the idea that God likes to surprise us with good surprises.  He delights, for His glory, to give His children good things especially when we aren't looking for them.  There have been many times in my life where there is evidence of God's goodness and love for me.  Thus the title: Sarahdipity.

That's creative! Now how does the website address relate?  Well, if serendipity is finding something good and this web address is "bake something good" what do you guess this blog will be about?  You guessed it - here is where I will be sharing all my favorite baked goods!  Now, I will not pretend that I am an expert baker.  Here is where the title takes on it's full meaning.  Most of the time that I bake something, it turns out good somewhat unexpectedly.  I don't come up with my own recipes and very rarely do I deviate from the exact measurements of a recipe.  So, I take no credit for the ideas.  It's more the implementation of the ideas that I find great joy and satisfaction in, and I hope you do as well!

So come on back each week and see what I've baked.  May you be inspired to bake something good (even if it's unexpected) yourself!